1. The 27-year-old started his career in 2002 and has been with the team for 21 years.
2. He added that he still keeps in touch with Mourinho, to whom he feels a deep debt.
3. CHRIS SUTTON: Take action now! It’s all getting started, Sir Jim Ratcliffe needs to fire Erik ten Hag right away.
The harsh counsel that Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho offered to Scott McTominay during their first training session has been made public.
The 27-year-old midfielder started his youth career with the Red Devils in 2002 and has been a member of the team for 21 years.
He made his first appearance in the first squad in 2017 and has since scored 17 goals in 162 games.
On his High Performance Podcast, McTominay spoke with Jake Humphrey about his time working under Jose Mourinho and how important a role he played in guiding his professional development.
“I was going over to train with Jose when I first went over, maybe at the beginning of the 2017 season, and there were a lot of lads on international break,” McTominay remarked.
“I was getting angry and raising my voice a little too much because the referees [during training] are always a little bit biassed towards the first team versus the young guys.”
It’s both probably the correct and incorrect thing to do. I was having an argument with some of the more experienced players, like [Ashley] Young and [Michael] Carrick, and I said, ‘You’re getting all the choices, no wonder we’re losing.’
“You need them to like you; you can’t make them think you’re a******,” Mourou told me. To be honest, he told me to get over my pride and that I had done nothing.
A few months later, the fitness coach informed me that Jose was merely trying you out, and I was aware of it at that point. It was encouraging to hear [kind comments] and to know that he was putting the group to the test.
“You just can’t get carried away because you can get humbled so quick,” the midfield player continued. I’m glad Jose showed up and gave me the opportunity.
My family adores him, and I owe him a great deal. Jose would always tell me to follow my feelings when I was planning to represent Scotland, as I had always wanted to represent my grandfather. I’m available to discuss any decisions at any time.
I entered his office as he was getting up to leave. I felt completely destroyed. It was difficult since this man gave me all of my dreams and meant a great deal to me, and now he’s gone.
I just wanted to say how much I appreciate the chance; you’ve been an absolute inspiration to me. I wish you well on your future endeavour. After that, we stayed in contact. I am really appreciative of him. The potency of self-confidence. It was ingrained in me by him.
Following Mourinho’s dismissal by Roma, which saw the Serie A team drop to ninth place in the standings, Mctominay made his remarks.
For McTominay, who has drawn a lot of criticism from supporters, life at United has not always been easy.
Manager Erik Ten Hag will be looking to McTominay to contribute to the Red Devils’ comeback, as they currently sit in seventh place.
